Legal
Legal issues in the correctional system encompass various topics, including inmate rights, staff conduct, and compliance with state and federal laws. This directory offers articles and resources on the legal aspects of correctional facility operations, helping staff stay informed about the regulations and policies that govern their work. Understanding legal responsibilities is essential for minimizing liability and ensuring facilities operate within the law. For more information, explore our section on Corrections Policies.
Citing a 35.5% re-arrest rate, Attorney General Jason Miyares wants the General Assembly to repeal the earned sentence credit initiative
The Wake County sheriff fired three officers and promised to put body cameras on corrections staff rollout following the man’s suicide in jail custody
A state judge ruled that the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision must stop exceeding cell confinement limits imposed by the HALT Act
Nevada has 81 people on death row and no planned executions
James Kraig Kahler’s attorneys asked the court to toss out his conviction, arguing the trial judge mistakenly tilted the proceedings against him
A Delaware Supreme Court ruling earlier this year declaring the state’s death penalty law unconstitutional is retroactive
The men’s appeals claim prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that could have proved their innocence
Some policies have been carefully and deliberately constructed, while others are lacking the same thoughtful craftsmanship
Attorneys are challenging the state’s plan to use lethal injection drugs from a secret compounding pharmacy
The growing number of female inmates at Westmoreland County Prison might force the county to rent space in neighboring jails
The one-minute video shows inmates in several frozen stances — one in the bathroom, others fighting and one holding a contraband cellphone
Each year, we read about corrections officers getting fired and prosecuted for violating the basic rights of inmates, and 2016 was no different
Several senators have urged Obama to declassify the 6,770-page investigation so the public can have a full accounting of past torture practices
Santa Clara County agreed to settle a wrongful death and civil rights violation claim brought by the family of 31-year-old Michael Tyree, who was found dead in his cell
The Supreme Court on Monday turned away appeals from death row inmates in four states that raised different questions about the fairness of capital punishment
The inmate coughed repeatedly and his upper body heaved for at least 13 minutes during an execution
The Supreme Court found the state violated Todd Ellison’s due process rights to a speedy trial after he remained jailed for 1,705 days awaiting trial
Critics of a lethal injection drug that led to an inmate heaving his chest, coughing and appearing to move bolstered their argument that the drug should not be used in lethal injections
Officials said inmates are never denied medical care or medication because of the cost
Problems include delays in finding suitable veins and needles becoming clogged or disengaged
Trafficked women often bounce in and out of correctional facilities on prostitution arrests
Justices are considering whether juveniles facing life should get the sorts of legal safeguards now in place for defendants facing the death penalty
Attorneys told the jury to decide whether Dylann Roof “should be sent to prison with no possibility of release ever or should he be executed”
A jury convicted Ronald Bert Smith Jr. of capital murder in 1995 and recommended life imprisonment by a 7-5 vote
Christopher Lee Cornell was sentenced to 30 years in prison for plotting to attack the U.S. Capitol in support of the Islamic State
Justices are considering whether to apply their earlier ruling declaring the state’s death penalty law unconstitutional to the cases of a dozen men already sentenced to death
Dylann Roof’s lawyers have offered to plead guilty if federal prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty
The bill called for prohibiting solitary confinement except in cases where there was a reasonable cause to think the inmate posed a substantial risk
A federal judge agreed Monday to let a white man accused of fatally shooting nine black parishioners rehire his attorneys until a verdict is reached
William Sallie is to be put to death Tuesday for the 1990 slaying of his father-in-law
The proposals were crafted in response to recent SCOTUS rulings that deemed juvenile life terms unconstitutional
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